Step 1: Think Like a Scientist

What factors distinguish students who adjust well to college?

What factors predict whether students will do well?

Why do some students do better than others?

These are important questions. Our "everyday" thinking relies on intuition to answer them. Type in this space a few factors you think may influence students' adjustment to college:

You may have thought of factors such as

• Having supportive friends and parents

• The difficulty of the classes

• Distance from home

• Whether the college environment is fun and active

• Many other factors

Our intuition tells us that these factors influence college adjustment, but to be scientific, we need to do more.

When we think like a scientist, we set aside our more everyday approach to decision making and gaining knowledge. A scientific approach to these questions involves isolating important factors, such as support from friends and observing the effects of this factor by itself.

Scientists are skeptical. They look at lists of factors that intuition suggests may be important, but they adopt a wait-and-see attitude. What does the research evidence say about these factors? Is the evidence good? Is it based on well-controlled observation and experimentation? As you begin to think like a scientist, you won't be satisfied with people's opinions about psychological topics. You'll want to know what the research evidence says.

Why should we do research on college students' adjustment?